Telus's dismissal of an employee in its Prince George call centre for "unacceptable absenteeism" has been upheld by a B.C. Supreme Court Justice.
Justice Nathan Smith found there was no reason to overturn a federal labour arbitrator's decision to allow Telus to fire the employee, Bonita Palmer, who had worked for the company as an operator in Prince George for 25 years.
Palmer was let go on Oct. 8, 2008 with a letter stating that she had been absent for "an unacceptably high number of shifts" and was therefore not capable of meeting her employment obligations.
The Telecommunications Workers Union (TWU) filed a grievance on her behalf but the arbitrator dismissed it last year, finding the employee's absenteeism was "excessive" and far exceeded the employee average.
Palmer had been absent from work up to 150 days a year but also suffered from a number of health problems, including chronic low-grade depression with major depressive episodes, which resulted in a considerable number of absences from work over many years.
The union filed a petition in B.C. Supreme Court to set aside the arbitrator's decision, arguing that the arbitrator failed to consider the issue of whether the employer had established just cause for termination and the arbitrator failed to make an explicit finding on that point.
Palmer's absenteeism peaked at 150 days in 1996 but remained well above the company average in most years. In 2008, she was absent from work for 32 days before she was dismissed.
Telus made concessions to accommodate Palmer's health problems, namely "micro breaks" for five minutes each hour and a consistent five-day work week as opposed to one in which operators worked eight or nine consecutive days followed by three or four days off.
The TWU argued, in part, that while 32 days was excessive, it represented a substantial improvement over most of her previous years and that the arbitrator erred in finding that she had received sufficient warning that her job was in jeopardy.
But Smith noted that in addition to receiving seven letters, her absenteeism was discussed verbally with her on more than 20 occasions.
"I consider that to be a pure finding of fact, supported by evidence accepted by the arbitrator, to which the court must defer," Smith wrote in the judgment, issued Dec. 30.
